Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Reading Challenges Update - November

Here is where I stand with the challenges I have joined after the month of October (only challenges that I read books for this month are featured here):

8. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

4. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Horror & Urban Fantasy (24/24) - COMPLETED!
21. The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
22. Nightshade by Maryrose Wood
23. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
24. Trance by Kelly Meding

5. This Day in the Life by Joni B. Cole , Rebecca Joffrey & B.K. Rakhra, eds.

iChallenge (10/10) - COMPLETED!
9. The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
10. Nightshade by Maryrose Wood

5. An Unholy Alliance by Judy Nedry

An Unholy Alliance

Title: An Unholy Alliance
Author: Judy Nedry
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN:
9781440142062
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Show Me the Free

Thoughts: I am really not sure how exactly to categorize this book. It had all the makings of a cozy - amateur sleuth, niche hobby, etc - but some of the side subject matter was much darker than any cozy - alcoholism and incest. There is one point in the middle that it alludes to possible past dectecting exploits, but there were no earlier books that I could find. And the end does not seem open to more in a series. However, having said all that, this is a very well-written mystery and I hope to see more from this author.
Rating: 4 stars

Young Adult Contemporary Challenge Recap


One of my favorite challenges this year was the Young Adult Contemporary Challenge. I knew I read a lot of YA genre fiction, but I never paid attention to how much contemporary I read, too - 13 exactly. I think I will do this one again as it offered a nice change of pace. Here's what I read:

1. Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
2. I Am J by Cris Beam
3. You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
4. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
5. The Allegra Biscotti Collection by Olivia Bennett
6. Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson
7. Who What Wear by Olivia Bennett
8. Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray
9. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
10. In Zanesvilles by Jo Ann Beard
11. Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle
12. Freshman by Corinne Mucha
13. Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Elsewhere Online: November 2011

As you may have guessed from my In My Mailbox posts, I review for another website (bookloons.com). As I cannot post my reviews there and here, but I would still like to count the books I read for the challenges, I am going to have a post like this at the end of the every month listing the books I reviewed and what challenges the went towards.

Title: Dearly, Departed
Author: Lia Habel
Challenges: Debut Author, Full Steampunk Ahead, Horror & Urban Fantasy

Title: Trance
Author: Kelly Medling
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

This Day in the Life

Title: This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women Across America
Author: by
Publisher: Three Rivers
ISBN:
9781400082322
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: Borrowed Books

Thoughts: This was different from any book I have read before. Each chapter was a day diary of a different American woman. What I liked better, though, were the shorter chapters that either included just a few hours from the day or one paragraph. Despite the format, it was slow reading.
Rating: 2 stars

Debut Author Challenge Recap


I am not quite finished with the Debut Author Challenge yet, but I think I might make it - after this month, I just need to read 2 more to meet the requirement of 12 books. I really enjoyed reading debut authors, so I will definitely do this in 2012. Here are the 2011 authors I have read so far:

1. Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
2. I Am J by Cris Beam
3. The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
5. The Lens and the Looker by Lory S. Kaufman
6. Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray
7. In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard
8. Bunheads by Sophie Flack
9. The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant by Michelle Cuevas & Ed Young
10. Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
11.
12.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Gratitude Giveaway WINNER!

Random.org has spoken and a big congrats go out to...

kay s.!

An email has been sent. Winner has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

YA Series Challenge Recap


I do read a lot of YA series, so the YA Series Challenge was a relatively easy one. What I found a little difficult, though, was that the series had to have at least 3 books in it, and a lot of the series I have read are just starting and only have 1 or 2 books out yet, so I didn't know if they counted or not. I am not sure if I will do this next year or just stick with eh 1st in a Series Challenge and maybe pick up the 2nd in a Series Challenge. For the level I chose of Trying It Out (3-5 books), here's what I read:

1. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
2. Summer by Eden Maguire
3. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
5. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Sunday, November 27, 2011

100 Books in a Year Challenge Recap


When I signed up, I had no doubt in my mind I would complete the 100 Books in a Year Challenge. According to Goodreads, I read 150 last year (which I put as my goal this year, but I am falling short), so I knew I could do 2/3rds of that easily (and I can do it again next year). Here is the list:

1. The New Weird by Ann VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer, eds.
2. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
3. Tsubasa: Those with Wings 3 by Natsuki Takaya
4. Happy Cafe 2 by Kou Matsuzuki
5. Maid Sama! 4 by Hiro Fujiwara
6. Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
7. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass
8. Maid Sama! 5 by Hiro Fujiwara
9. ShapeShifter: The Demo Tapes Year 1 by Susan Helene Gottfried
10. Happy Cafe 3 by Kou Matsuzuki
11. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
12. Blue by Lou Aronica
13. Happy Cafe 4 by Kou Matsuzuki
14. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
15. Broken Angels 1 by Setsuri Tsuzuki
16. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
17. Alice in the Country of Hearts 2 by Soumei Hoshino & Quinrose
18. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
19. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
21. Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
22. I Am J by Chris Beam
23. Summer by Eden Maguire
24. The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun by Christopher Mahoney
25. The Crime Stories by Louis L'Amour
26. Most Wanted by Michele Martinez
27. Grand Guignol Orchestra 1 by Kaori Yuki
28. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
30. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
31. You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
32. The Dark-Hunters 4 by Sherrilyn Kenyon & Claudia Campos
33. A Thousand Times More Fair by Kenji Yoshino
34. Huntress by Malinda Lo
35. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
36. Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried
37. Alice in the Country of Hearts 3 by Soumei Hoshino & Quinrose
38. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
39. The Allegra Biscotti Collection by Olivia Bennett
40. Alice in the Country of Hearts 4 by Soumei Hoshino & Quinrose
41. Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson
42. The Cypress House by Michael Koryta
43. The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky
44. Missing Persons by Clare O'Donohue
45. Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar
46. Western Classics by Graphic Classics
47. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
48. Princess Ai: The Prism of Midnight Dawn 2 by Courtney Love, Stuart "DJ Milky" Levy, Christine Boylan, & Misaho Kujiradou
49. Odd Is on Our Side by Dean Koontz, Fred Van Lente, & Queenie Chan
50. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
51. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
52. Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cornwell
53. Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz
54. Divergent by Veronica Roth
55. Hurricane Dancers by Margarita Engle
56. Where's My Wand? by Eric Poole
57. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
58. The Nature of Wonder by Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier, & Sami Makkonen
59. The Lens and the Looker by Lory S. Kaufman
60. Into the Dark by Gena Showalter
61. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
62. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
63. Who What Wear by Olivia Bennett
64. Secrets in the Attic by Damian Serbu
65. Absolutely, Positively by Heather Webber
66. The Paradise Prophecy by Robert Browne
67. The Haunted by Jessica Verday
68. OtherWorlds by Tom Kidd
69. Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray
70. Fire by Robin McKinley & Peter Dickenson
71. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
72. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
73. Nightschool: The Weirn Books 1 by Svetlana Chmakova
74. The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar
75. A Bride's Story 1 by Kaoru Mori
76. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
77. In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard
78. All You Desire by Kirsten Miller
79. Spellweaver by Lynn Kurland
81. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
82. Honolulu by Alan Brennert
83. Impeding Justice by Mel Comley
84. City of Thieves by David Benioff
85. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
86. Bond Girl by Erin Duffy
87. Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery by Graphic Classics
88. Gandhi by Kazuki Ebine
89. Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet by Kirk Scroggs
90. Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle
91. The Buddha at Culver by Richard Gwyn Davies
92. Freshman by Corinne Mucha
93. The Magician King by Lev Grossman
94. All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
95. The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner
96. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
97. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
98. Primal Desires by Susan Sizemore
99. Queer by Kathy Belge & Marke Bieschke
100. Ghost Hunt by Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson

Saturday, November 26, 2011

1st in a Series Challenge Recap


The 1st in a Series Challenge was definitely one of the easiest I completed this year. I did the easiest level of Series Novice (3 books) and surpassed it three times over. I will definitely participate again and up my level. Here were the titles I read this year for the challenge:

1. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass
2. Broken Angels 1 by Setsuri Tsuzuki
3. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

Friday, November 25, 2011

TBR Pile Challenge Recap


The TBR Pile Challenge proved much harder than I thought. I guess the biggest challenge was that I had to create a list for it. If I would have stuck to the list, maybe I would have finished, but sometimes I had to read a book farther down in my TBR pile in order to review the next in the series or, as happened a few times, my book club read it. Even with a month of 2011 left, I highly doubt I will finish this challenge. Here is what I have read so far (I have 8 out of the required 12):

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
2. Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cronwell
3. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
4. Honolulu by Alan Bennert
5. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
6. Primal Desires by Susan Sizemore
7. Most Wanted by Michele Martinez
8. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
9. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
10. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
11. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
12. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Poison Diaries: Nightshade

Title: The Poison Diaries: NightshadeAuthor: Maryrose Wood with The Duchess of Northumberland
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
ISBN: 978-06-180242-3
Why Read?: Review
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy, iChallenge

The YA market is currently oversaturated with dark fantasies. In order to stand out, an author has to have a very unique concept. That is exactly what Maryrose Wood, with the help of The Duchess of Northumberland, has with The Poison Diaries trilogy. The first book in the series was a gothic tale of love, plants, and a startling revelations. Nightshade, the middle book of the trilogy, takes an even darker turn, adding murder and political intrigue to the mix.

After recovering from her illness, Jessamine Luxton wakes to find her betrothed, Weed, has fled. Depressed, she goes about her day working as a healer and trying to avoid the voice of Oleander, the Prince of Poisons, in her head. However, it is with his help that she discovers the cause of her illness and her mother’s death. Enraged, Jessamine sets out to poison her father, and ends up killing another man in the process. Now she must disguise herself and flee Northumberland with only Oleander to guide her. Shortly after she leaves, Weed comes back for her only to surmise what she had done. With the plants in England too scared of the prince to tell Weed where Jessamine is, he travels to Italy, to the Orto botanico, the oldest garden. There he falls under the tutaledge of Signora Baglioni, the gardener, a wise and trust-worthy woman interested in Weed’s gift of talking to the plants. But while Weed is bettering himself, Jessamine is falling further under Oleander’s power, possibly past the point of no return.

While The Poison Diaries was dark mostly in an atmospheric sense, Nightshade was dark all around. Jessamine’s life starts off dim and gets darker and darker as she progresses through the blonde healer Jessamine, the auburn embroidery and cosmetics merchant, to the raven-haired poison dealer. Weed’s life, on the other hand, seems to lighten a little once he reaches the Orto botanica and is able to learn more about how to use his gift for good. However, through it all, he still carries the burden of his murderous transgression along with the worry of loosing Jessamine to Oleander. These emotions make for tense, fast-paced reading.

Nightshade was a good I simply could not put down. Maryrose Wood shows great prowess as a storyteller in all aspects of writing. I simply cannot wait to see how The Poison Diaries trilogy ends.

Rating: 5/5

Graphic Novels Challenge Recap


I love graphic novels so I did not expect the Graphic Novels Challenge level I chose, Beginner (3 books), to be so challenging. I did complete it, but I thought for sure I would read more. I do have some still sitting on my shelves, so I will do it again, but at the same level. Here is what I managed to read:

1. Western Classics by Graphic Classics
2. The Nature of Wonder by Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier, & Sami Makkonen
3. Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery by Graphic Classics

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Audio Book Challenge Recap


I had listened to a few audio books before signing up for the Audio Book Challenge, but this challenge really made me love them. I did manage to meet the level I signed up for, Curious (3 books), and while I did hear 2 more, I am not sure if I will try a higher level next year or not. See, all the books I listened to I had won. Audio books are really hard for me to buy, so I do not want to fail the challenge next year because I did not get as lucky as I did this year. Anyway, here is what I "read":

1. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
2. Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz
3. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Mystery & Suspense Challenge Recap


Even without trying, I do read a good number of mystery and/or suspense books a year, so the Mystery & Suspense Challenge was relatively easy. The thing I kept forgetting was to check back in in order to win the prizes that Book Chick City was offering. As this challenge is to read 12 books, I couldn't got a level higher next year, but I will probably still participate again. Here is what I read this year:

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
2. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
4. Summer by Eden Maguire
5. The Crime Stories by Louis L'Amour
6. Most Wanted by Michele Martinez
7. You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
8. The Cypress House by Michael Koryta
9. Missing Persons by Clare O'Donohue
10. Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cornwell
11. Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz
12. Absolutely, Positively by Heather Webber

Monday, November 21, 2011

E-Book Challenge Recap


I never really thought I liked ebooks, but having a device to read them on makes them so much better than having to sit at my desk and read PDFs. Once I got the hang of reading them (it is a little different from a physical book), I began to enjoy it, so I easily made the E-Book Challenge goal I chose, Curious (3 books). If there is one for 2012, I will definitely do it and try a higher level. Here are the books I read for the challenge:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Trevor's Song by Susan Helene Gottfried
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Poison Diaries

Title: The Poison Diaries
Author: Maryrose Wood with The Duchess of Northumberland
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
ISBN: 978-06-18023602
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy, iChallenge

Thoughts: What surprised me the most about The Poison Diaries is how atmospheric it was. The mood was set from the very first page and never strayed. Very dark and intense and a wonderful quick, engaging, and very unique read. The twist at the end was riveting, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Rating: 5 stars

Reading Challenge Addict Challenge Update


As the end of the year is approaching, it is time to look at how I did on all the challenges I sign-up for. Since I signed up for so many, when I joined the Reading Challenge Addict Challenge, I chose the highest level, Out of this World (16+) books. Obviously the year is not over yet, so here is where I currently stand with that (ones in bold are completed). I will be talking about each of these challenges individually in the coming month.

1. E-book Challenge (3/3)
2. Mystery & Suspense Challenge (12/12)
3. Audio Book Challenge (3/3)
4. Graphic Novels Challenge (3/3)
5. TBR Pile Challenge (7/12)
6. 1st in a Series Challenge (3/3)
7. 100 Books in a Year Challenge (100/100)
8. YA Series Challenge (5/5)
9. Debut Author Challenge (10/12)
10. Young Adult Contemporary Challenge (13/13)
11. Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge (5/5)
12. Off the Shelf Challenge (1/5)
13. People of Color Challenge (3/3)
14. Full Steampunk Ahead Challenge (3/10)
15. Manga Reading Challenge (12/12)
16. Gothic Reading Challenge (1/1)
17. YA Historical Fiction Challenge (3/3)
18. Historical Fiction Challenge (2/2)
19. Chick Lit Challenge (4/8)
20. Eastern Europe Challenge (1/4)
21. Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge (21/24)
22. Classics Challenge (4/5)
23. Borrowed Book Challenge (4/12)
24. Aussie Author Challenge (1/3)
25. International Challenge (8/12)
26. Historical Romance Challenge (1/12)
27. Non-Fiction Challenge (3/3)
28. iChallenge (8/10)
29. Show Me the Free (4/12)
30. Vampire (4/20)
31. Wilde (0/2)
32. Fantasy (3/3)
33. Chunkster (1/4)
34. Chinese Literature (1/3)